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Deaths of 76 Samsung workers exposed to chemicals

Sep7

Written by:07/09/2016 08:47

Sign the petition to tell Samsung to pay compensation to victims and their families in South Korea

An investigation by the Associated Press (AP) news agency found that Samsung deliberately kept secret the harmful chemicals its South Korean workers were exposed to, fearing its competitors would learn trade secrets. 76 workers are now dead, and many more are serious ill.

Most of the dead were in their 20s or 30s. One former worker—a breast cancer survivor—reported that Samsung brought in “uninformed kids” and treated them like they were “disposable cups.”

Samsung repeatedly refused to reveal the carcinogenic chemicals workers were exposed to in its factories, the exposure levels, or how it managed the chemicals. And the only reason it gave was protecting its bottom line: “our company's competitiveness would be lowered,” it told the government, which then helped them keep it secret.

There have been 200 cases of serious illnesses at Samsung’s LCD and semiconductor factories, including leukemia, lupus, lymphoma, and multiple sclerosis. There is clear evidence that Samsung tried to cover it up, and had government help in doing so.

Hwang Sang-Gi, father of Hwang Yu-mi, a former Samsung factory worker who died of leukaemia aged 22, told the AP that the company once offered him 1 billion won ($914,000) in exchange for his silence.

Watch the video of his story:

The victims need the details of which chemicals they were exposed to and their known health effects to qualify for compensation. Samsung denies that it has been withholding information.

See how Samsung compares to other manufacturers of mobile phones and tablets in our guides. These guides are due to be fully updated in October.

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